HGTV: Good Bones' Stars Repurpose Floor Transition Strips Into A DIY Wine Rack

Human civilizations have been enjoying wine for millennia. Since the ancient Egyptians and Greeks, wine has been served from receptacles like hollowed-out gourds, clay vessels, silver cups, and now, wine glasses. Sure, one can drink from a plastic cup if one chooses, but can one savor their favorite merlot or muscadet without swirling and sniffing from stemware before taking a sip? Elegant stemmed wine glasses are a must-have for any wine aficionado, but unlike the humble teacup, storing wine glasses presents a unique challenge.

Wine glasses can't be stored upside down in a cupboard, as their delicate rims can't handle the pressure. Stored side-by-side, spacing is needed to decrease the risk of chips, cracks, or breakage when moving glasses. Some opt to store wine glasses in special boxes with spacers, but those with attractive glassware typically prefer a storage option that lends itself to everyday admiration. The perfect solution is a wine glass storage rack where stemware is hung upside-down by the base, and as HGTV's Mina Starsiak Hawk and Karen Laine demonstrated on "Rachael Ray," it's an easy and attractive DIY. The "Good Bones" stars share how to create an elegant wine glass rack that doubles as a shelf, a decorative alternative to simple metal racks installed under cabinets. This DIY is a perfectly functional and decorative addition for free space on kitchen or dining room walls. You can create an elegant wine rack with repurposed floor transition strips with a t-molding shape, wood, and shelf brackets.

You don't have to be a woodworker to tackle this DIY for your kitchen or home wine bar. You only need repurposed floor transition strips in a t-molding shape, leftover wood, and shelf brackets. Before assembling the shelf, decide where you want the brackets to be placed to support the weight of the rack, mark the positions, and attach the brackets securely using screws. Use a measuring tape to measure the base diameter of your wine glasses. This measurement will let you know how many rows can fit along your wooden plank. The base of most wine glasses has a diameter of around 2.56 inches, but specialized stemware may vary. 

Start from one end of the plank and make marks at regular intervals based on the spacing gathered from the diameter. The markings are where your t-molding strips will be affixed. Ensure they are evenly spaced and parallel. Use a saw to cut your repurposed t-molding strips to the appropriate lengths according to your measurements and secure them to the wood plank using screws. Before you set up your shelf, test by resting the shelf on a flat surface and sliding the base of a wine glass between the two t-strips in each row to make sure that the wine glasses fit securely and that there's enough space so the bowl of the glasses don't touch when all rows are occupied. If it does, you can affix your wine glass rack and decorative shelf to the wall using screws.

When HGTV stars repurpose things to create functional items for the home, they remind us that you don't need a huge budget to pull off interesting home design and decor. This DIY project from the hosts of "Good Bones" is simple, minimalist, inexpensive, and easy to assemble with affordable and repurposed components. Like any good DIY, it can be personalized and transformed with simple modifications. For example, you can select wood with one live edge for a rustic look for your hanging wine rack. Just ensure one side of the wood plank is cut to sit flush with your wall. Another way to change the look of this DIY is to opt for a sleeker floating shelf look by using floating shelf brackets over traditional ones. Also, floor transition strips with a t-molding shape come in various colors and finishes, or you can paint your shelf to further personalize the look. 

When attempting this DIY, something else you'll want to be mindful of is that this hack is perfect for most wine glasses, but to accommodate specialized glasses with smaller or larger base diameters, you may have to change the spacing size between rows. Your rack also won't hang stemless glasses, but since this DIY comes with a built-in shelf, you may want to store these atop your shelf or decorate your shelf with art, photographs, wine-inspired decor, or keepsakes. However you choose to personalize, you'll be set to show off your stemware in style with an affordable DIY worth raising a glass to.